Christian Horner was cleared of inappropriate behaviour allegations in 2024 after two investigations, only to be dismissed by Red Bull in July 2025. The saga exposed a power struggle at the heart of Formula 1's most dominant team.
Horner, 51, had been team principal of Red Bull Racing since its founding in 2005, building it into the most successful operation in modern Formula 1 with 14 world championships: eight constructors' titles and six drivers' titles, most recently with Max Verstappen. In February 2024, days before the new season, Red Bull's Austrian parent company announced he was under investigation following allegations of inappropriate behaviour made by a female colleague, reported to be his personal assistant.
Horner denied the allegations throughout. An external specialist barrister conducted the investigation, and on 28 February 2024, on the eve of the season-opening Bahrain Grand Prix, Red Bull GmbH announced the grievance had been dismissed. The complainant exercised her right of appeal, and in August 2024 that appeal was also dismissed, with Horner saying he was relieved the thorough process was behind him.
But the controversy refused to die. Alleged private messages between Horner and the complainant were leaked to media and rival team principals, Mercedes boss Toto Wolff publicly demanded transparency, calling it an issue for all of Formula 1, and Verstappen's father Jos declared that the team would 'explode' if Horner stayed. The saga was widely interpreted as a proxy war between Red Bull's Austrian ownership, its Thai shareholders and the Verstappen camp.
Horner survived the 2024 season, but in July 2025, after a disappointing start to the campaign, Red Bull dismissed him, ending a 20-year tenure. In interviews to promote his memoir Drive in October 2026, Horner described the sacking as brutal and sad, suggesting it stemmed from a feeling that too much control rested in his hands rather than from the 2024 allegations, which he said he had come through and dismissed.
Throughout the ordeal, his wife Geri Halliwell, the former Spice Girl, stood firmly beside him, appearing with him at races when many expected the marriage to buckle. Horner has called her an absolute pillar of strength.
The affair left deep scars on the sport. It raised uncomfortable questions about how Formula 1 handles workplace complaints, about the leaking of private material as a weapon in corporate warfare, and about whether even the most successful team principal in the paddock is expendable when results falter. Horner, who once called running Ferrari his dream job, has said he would absolutely return to the sport, leaving the paddock to wonder where one of its biggest characters will resurface.